THE RACE FOR THE EPSOM DERBY.

Auckland Star, Volume XXX, Issue 162, 11 July 1899, Page 8

THE RACE FOR THE EPSOM DERBY.

(From. Our Special Correspondentt.)

LONDON, June 2.

A glorious summer day—the first tins year—attracted a colossal crowd to Epsom on Wednesday, but it ->yas more in expectation of enjoying the fun of the fair than of seeing- a great race for the Derby. The hitter has never, I should think, in its long career been the medium of less speculation than in this year of grace. There seemed early on in the spring to be only one horse, the Duke of Westminster's Flying Fox, in it, and when this colt showed himself in form by cantering away with the Two Thousand, all interest in the Blue Eiband collapsed. Twelve runners, however, went* to the post, but of these seven had not a hundred to one chance. The most dangerous opposition to the favourite was expected to come from the French Holocauste, on Avhom the great little Tod Sloan had the mount. There; has, by the way, been a sad "slump" in Sloans. Up to Tuesday Master Tod had ridden sixteen losers in succession, breaking even his fondest and most faithful followers. On Tuesday the tide turned and Tod got home twice. But there was none of the enthusiasm about his Derby mount there would have been three weeks ago. An Irish son of Gallinules, called Oppressor, found a good many friends in the paddock, and Mr Marshall's Damocles (by SuspenderRevelry) which won a race here at the spring meeting'was also somewhat liked. But no serious sportsman thought of anyrb'ng.save Flying Fox. Betting on the race was nil. The multi-millionaires ' connected with Porter's \stabl© don't bet, and the plunging element amongst backers seldom comes out over a race of this kind. Those who would back the favourite had to lay 5 to 2, and at length"3 to 1 on. Sloan's followers kept Holocauste at a fairly short price and a little went on to Damocles at 15 to 1, and Oppressor at twenties. THE DERBY STAKES of SOOOsovs to the ,winner. For three year olds. Colts 9.0. About one mile and a half. Duke of Westminster's b c Flying Fox, by Orine —Vampire,' 9.0 (M. Cannon) 1 Mr W. It. Marshall's eh c Damocles, 9.0 (S. Loates). 2 Mr J. A. Miller's br c Innocence, 9.0 (W. Halsey) 3 Mr H. Bamato's My Boy (J. Watts) 4 Also started:—Lord Dnuraven's Desmond (F. Pratt), M. J. de Bremond's Holocauste (J. Fi Sloan), Mr T. L. Flunkett's Oppressor (T. Loates), Mr. 11. A. Oswald's Scintillant (0. Mad-d-n), Mr H. Pack's Ballyleck (W. I Bradford), Mr Fairies Matoppe (F. iKickabv), Mr E. J. Bose's Sir Reginald (F. Allsopp), Mr Elliot Galer's Beautiwick (W. H. Palmer), . Betting-. 5 to 2 on Flying Fox, 6 to 1 against Holocauste.

Desmond's antics kept the field at the post three quarters of an hour, and greatly excited Flying .Fox, who promptly shot to the front when they did get off. Cannon pulled him back and let Holocauste.make the running, keeping, however, well on the premises, with Sir-Reginald, ..Oppressor, Damocles and Innocence as nearest attendants. As they .swept past the mile post the' position was unchanged, save that Sloan had slightly increased his-lead. On the summit of the hill Cannon'let Flying Fox out-, and toolclose order with Holocauste, the pair being well clear of Innocence, Oppressor and Scintillant, and before coming into the straight' Flying Fox took a slight letid of the French candidate. After being headed Holocauste peeked twice and shattered the pastern of his oft fore leg, and as he swerved all over the course he nearly caused some of the others to fall, but fortunately there was no further accident. Flying Fox then took a clear lead of Innocence Damocles, Oppressor and My Boy, aud won in a canter by two lengths from Damocles, innocence being a length away third, My Boy half a length behind, was placed fourth by the judge. Oppressor was fifth and Matoppo whipper in.

Tod Sloan avers that when Holocauste pecked he had won the race. To this Cannon emphatically demurs, declaring that he could have easily headed the field any period of the struggle.

The Duke of' Westminster has done now what no other owner has ever done before, him, viz., won the Derby in four generations of horses, namely -with Bend Or, Shotover, Ormonde and Flying Fox. The only break is Orme (Flying Fox's sire),', and that the latter should" have won the Derby was made palpable by his subsequent performances. It is indeed a noble line from its founder, Doncaster, who won the Derby for Mr Merry in 1873. The victory was eiithusiastically received/ and the Duke Of Westminster's naturally sour aspect lightened somewhat as he led his. handsome ,colt to the weighing room and received the Prince of Wales' hearty congratulations,

Tod Sloan's friends had a sad, Derby Day. They' opened, the afternoon royally, as their mannikin got home triumphantly on .Lord Bill Beresford's Lutetia, a 4 to 1 chance. All the winnings and a little more were however well down on Holocauste, "Toddy" being ' confident of getting a ; place, even if he didn't quite win. .The "Sloanites" had- to lay 5 and v to 4 on Holocauste 1, 2, 3, a.nd blue indeed • they looked when • the poor beast broke down. The Stanley Stakes proved, however, the culminating tragedy of the day. Herein Tod rode a "dead cert," one of those "good things" which "can't get teat.* The Eing demanded 2 to 1, and ultimately 5 to 2 on Yumboe, and the American division plunged as though the Bank of England were behind them.' Alas! little Madden on an outsider managed to slip the field, and Sloan and his Yumboe couldn't quite get up. "Three weeks ago," said a stoney-br-oke disciple of the American jockey, "I rhymed god and Tod. Now I can only see how well groan rhymes with Sloan." . ~-"■;